Aug 16, 2012

Chicken Treats Guide. Don't Love Your Pets to Death.

by
Kathy Shea Mormino

If you’re reading this, chances are you have chickens that you consider pets and everyone enjoys spoiling their pets with treats, right? We get a kick out of seeing them run to greet us at the sight of the treat container or the sound of the back door opening. It makes us feel good to see them happy and we are entertained by their antics when they compete for coveted snacks. But the wrong treats and treats in excess can be harmful to their health, stunt growth, shorten their lifespan and interfere with egg production. So, we should be aware of what can they eat, what should they not eat and how much is too much.

A good rule of thumb is: if you shouldn’t eat it, your pet chickens shouldn’t either (mealworms, insects and dirt notwithstanding). Common sense should be the guide in treat selection. The types of foods we require to maximize our own health are the foods we should consider when spoiling our chickens: high protein, whole grains, low salt, low sugar, fruits and vegetables. Milk products are an exception to this general rule as too much can cause digestive upset and diarrhea. Probiotics are a much better choice for chickens for gut health.

HOW YOUNG?

Every new chicken-keeper wants to know how soon fluffy babies can eat treats.Given their tiny size and amount of feed intake, small amounts of treats can interfere with a chick’s nutritional balance. A chick’s growth, development and ability to defend against illness can be negatively affected by too many treats- even healthy choices. I am pretty conservative with baby chicks and snacks. It is fun to spoil them, but I feel that the potential harm outweighs any feel-good benefit.

If chicks are fed anything besides starter feed, they will need grit (tiny bits of sand/dirt) to aid in digestion.Starter feed is digested by saliva but other foods require grit for grinding in the gizzard (they’re a little short on teeth).

While not a treat, it bears mentioning that oyster shell should never be given to chicks or non-laying chickens as it can interfere with bone development and cause organ damage.

EVERYTHING IN MODERATION

When chickens eat treats, they’re not eating feed, which is their primary source of nutrition even for free-range birds. Commercially prepared feed is very carefully prepared by poultry nutritionists who carefully monitor the composition of ingredients to ensure that a chicken’s daily vitamin, mineral and protein requirements are met. Supplemental foods (treats/snacks) replace a portion of those essential dietary elements to some degree. Excessive treats, even healthy ones, can cause any of the following: obesity, reduced egg production, malformed eggs, habitual laying of multiple-yolked eggs, vent prolapse, a protein deficiency, feather-picking, fatty liver syndrome, increased risk of heat stroke and heart problems. Treats should be limited to no more than 5% of a chicken's diet, which amounts to approximately 2 tablespoons of treats in any given day. Treats/scraps/snacks should not be fed to chickens daily due to the obesity-related health concerns which have reached epidemic proportions in backyard chickens.Poultry veterinarian Dr. Annika McKillop recommends cleaning up any treats they have not consumed within 15 minutes.

Scratch is affectionately referred to as ‘chicken crack’ for a reason; chickens love it, can’t get enough of it and it’s not healthy for them. Scratch typically consists of cracked corn and a mixture of grains, which tends to lack an appreciable amount of protein, vitamins and minerals. Scratch should be thought of as chicken candy and only given in small amounts occasionally. *Scratch should not be mixed into the flock’s feed.*

FACT: Chickens can eat the flesh of avocado in moderation. However, avocado pits and skin contain persin, which can be toxic in significant quantities.

MYTH: Chickens should not eat raw potatoes or potato skins.

FACT: Chickens should not eat GREEN potato skins. The green color indicates the presence of solanine, a toxin that affects the nervous system when consumed in large quantities. However, the average, healthy human would have to eat 4.5 pounds at one sitting to experience any neurological effects. Similarly, a chicken would need to consume large quantities of green potato skins to experience any effects. The leaves and stems of the potato plant levels of solanine that could be toxic to chickens in large amounts.

592 comments
:

I was just at the grocery store and was given two watermelons that had been dropped. I brought them home and my chickens went nuts! What surprised me was that the ducks went just as bonkers. It was the first treat that my ducks have responded to other than shredded lettuce in their pond!

Already liked Grit on fb, but I did comment to them that you have grit! ;)If I won, I'd love the Guide to Backyard Chickens and the Guide to Homemade Bread. I have four hens right now and am loving learning all I can. And who doesn't love homemade bread? :)

Thanks for the good info on goodies :) I always wondered about potatoes!! I have never given them any cause I was told NOT to! If I had 2 of the Grit it would be Backyard Chickens, and Homemade Bread!Katie :)

I've been a fan of MEN and Grit for years, I was overjoyed to find you today. I had chickens years ago, and am hoping to get back into raising them. There is nothing like a fresh egg from Happy Chickens! If I win, I'd like the Homemade Bread, (can you believe I've never made bread???) and the Chicken magazines?? I look forward to keeping up with you on FB!!

I would love to win the Backyard chickens and the Backyard Bees and honey! I am a newbie to owning my own chickens and have grown up helping as a child with my grandparents chickens. What a joy they are to have of my own. I have been researching and reading about chickens, care, diseases, and foods until my brain cannot store much more..lol. Thanks so much for such an informative page and I will be sure to follow you!!

Welcome to chicken-keeping, Joyce! I guess you can use a copy of that Grit Magazine Guide to Backyard Chickens, right? Well...congratulations, you have won it AND the Backyard Bees edition!Please email me with your shipping address with "Grit Chickens and Bees" in the subject line. Kathy@The-Chicken-Chick.com

Thank you for this article. I'm new to chickens (2 months) and appreciate your blog and learning about the best way to care for my new pets. If I won, I'd love Backyard Chickens and Backyard Bees and Honey. Thanks. tdmom777 at g m a i l dot com

I would love Backyard Chickens and Homemade Bread. Tomorrow my girls will be 4 weeks old (counting the day we brought them home as their birthday) and love the way homemade bread tastes and smells up the house.

I find a new place every day where my hens lay an egg. It's like an Easter egg hunt. I have what's commonly referred to as a chicken addiction with 81 pets, all with names. They go crazy when I break out the mealworms.

I have never given them any treats besides crickets which they LOVE! I have always heard they love mealworms but everytime I try to find them they are always sold out wher I go :(Beth MartinFlutterbug91@yahoo.com

Thanks for the info. Oddly enough I bought some scratch for my girls and they don't seem to care for it! I mean, they'll eat it but not very enthusiastically! They'd MUCH rather have some bananas or melon or MEALWORMS!!!! :-)

I love reading your posts, they are so informative. I enjoy seeing the pics(most of the time, some medical ones are a little gross LOL) It makes me excited for when we are finally able to have our own small chicken flock!

Thanks for the info on all the things chickens can eat. I was surprised there were so many different everyday things I can feed them. I would like the Chicken and the Homemade Bread books. Im sure there are lots of things I need to learn about my chickens that would help them. Also Who doesnt like homemade bread? Thanks!

Thanks for a wonderful article! I actually loved one of my first birds to death, the first winter I had them. I was so afraid that they would be cold that I gave them a diet with too much fat, and I lost a hen to atherosclerosis. (I had a necropsy done.) I had no way of knowing back then, since I hadn't found any resources for learning about which treats are good for them and which are not. I haven't lost a bird to such a thing since, I'm happy to say! Bookmarking your article!

Kathy, thank you so much for a very informative article! I like to put out some scratch in the hen house at roost time every night for their early morning confinement time to help keep them occupied until daylight and the pop door opens. I would like to ask a question: Am I over-doing it with my "homemade" scratch of sunflower seeds (40 lb bag), cracked corn (50 lb bag), wild birdseed mix (35 lb bag) and layer pellets (about 25 lbs)? Thank you so much for teaching us about chickens and their health!Tina Rainwatertinathyme@yahoo.com

Why wouldn't we eat a bowl of raw onions? Have did that. Never heard you shouldn't. My chickens once past the small stage will be in a portable coop and except for grit they won't get hardly an feed. It isn't necessary moving the chickens all around the yard/field area. When they get ready to lay they will get small amounts of laying feed while they're outside. When inside in bad weather they will need more but they will have so much to eat they won't need feed in summer. esp.Nice to know what they can and cannot eat, but of course we will eat most of what you mentioned except minimal scraps as we eat much and don't peel very many things. Can't afford actually store bought treats, but with all the outdoor goodies they can scrounge they won't need them. Thanks for all the information though.

Great post, thank you for all of the information. We feed them some scratch that we make and then of course fresh fruit and veggies that used to go to compost. They are most happy with watermelon I must admit.

Treats? Ha! Our spoiled girls get Molt Loaf, some scratch, and whatever veggies we have that won't get eaten in time. They love that loaf, and with being confined to the barn this winter, they need the extra nutrients they're not getting from foraging.

My chickens truly are spoiled. I grow wheat grass for them, I raise mealworms for them, I feed them Kale, among other healthy treats. I do not feed them anything that has no real nutritional value. I have not seen these treats around my area so I would love to win this prize. Thanks so much. queenb@epix.net

I give the girls whatever kitchen scraps look appetizing. They get a bit of scratch on days when it's going to be cold. Whenever there are any leftovers I give them scrambled eggs and they LOVE bananas!

My little girls' favorite snacks are tomatoes, watermelon, GRAPES!!!! They will perform all sorts of tricks for a grape! LOL! I have not purchased treats for them yet as locally, I just haven't found any on the shelf. I printed out the directions for your homemade version of the Flock Block! Love your site!

My chickens get scratch tossed in their house when its snowing because they dig and scratch around for it and it keeps them busy for hours. My husband feeds them meal worms, but mostly for our entertainment as it's causes quite a show, so I don't really know if that's a treat for them or us!

My chickens love the forage blocks and mealworm frenzy...just ran out of mealworms! I need to try the seed mix you mentioned above. I plant veggies just for them in the garden but the mix of green seems great too!

Hi Kathy...I subscribe to your blog via email, and I "liked" the Resolve Sustainable Solutions facebook page. My chickens' favorite treat is mealworms, hands down! I usually give them protein as treats: worms, hamburger, eggs. Some yogurt with flax seeds sprinkled on top. They also get all of our appropriate veggie and fruit scraps. They have a "scratch block" in the run, and I am pleased that they have to work so hard to get treats from it, because they don't overdo it on the scratch.

My girls get just about everything from Apples to Zucchini. They just adore watermelon in the Summer and pumpkins in the Fall. On cold days I pour hot water in their regular feed, they think that is a pretty great treat in itself (just don't tell them that) ;)Sometimes rice and pasta, in moderation of course. I get quite a kick out of my girls trying to "slurp" spaghetti too!

It's my sister's flock which gets the goodies....including two geese which pretty much rule the roost.

We feed them all sorts of table scraps, culls from the local stores, and insects when cheap enough (we're both on limited incomes and physically impaired).........looking forward to having my own flock again some day......heritage breeds of chickens, turkeys, ducks, and believe it or not, peafowl.

I raised chickens, turkeys, and quail when I was a kid, and neighbors had peafowl.......loved to hear the daily "Help, Help" peafowl hollering......I hear they are great meat birds as well, which is why I have an interest in them as well.

Hoping to win the goodies for my baby sis........Thanks for a great blog that keeps me and my sister interested, educated, and chuckling.....

It's my sister's flock which gets the goodies....including two geese which pretty much rule the roost.

We feed them all sorts of table scraps, culls from the local stores, and insects when cheap enough (we're both on limited incomes and physically impaired).........looking forward to having my own flock again some day......heritage breeds of chickens, turkeys, ducks, and believe it or not, peafowl.

I raised chickens, turkeys, and quail when I was a kid, and neighbors had peafowl.......loved to hear the daily "Help, Help" peafowl hollering......I hear they are great meat birds as well, which is why I have an interest in them as well.

Hoping to win the goodies for my baby sis........Thanks for a great blog that keeps me and my sister interested, educated, and chuckling.....

Good afternoon! I subscribe to your blog through my email violetacres at frontiernet..net I give my girls cooked egg dishes with shell of course, and treats of rice! These look good, would love to give them to my chicky ladies! I "liked" Revolution as well. Thank you for doing the giveaways!

Sometimes I hang a cabbage for them the much on. Last week I cooked a box of mac and cheese, but I only use half of the powdered cheese mix cause lots of sodium in there.Love a chance to win treats!Linda

My spoiled chickens get Happy Hen Treats, Harvest Delight, ForageCake, and UltraKibble. I have never heard of the Chicken Salad Seed Mix, but I will now have to find some...Nothing is too good for my babies!! LOL

My post disappeared so I don't know if it went through or not. If this is a duplicate, I apologize. My spoiled flock gets Happy Hen Treats, Harvest Delight, ForageCake, and UltraKibble. I will have to get some of the Chicken Salad seed mix. I hadn't seen it before.

I give my chickies leftovers, scrap veges and fruits. On cold days I'll make them up a batch of oatmeal, rice, pasta and throw in some raisins and nuts and other little treats..they quite enjoy it! I've tried our local store for scraps but was told no..so anyone willing to give me scraps I'm happy to take! and so are my girls! Have been enjoying reading your blog and all you share! Thank you!

More often than not my girls get leftover salads and, when I can get a BOGO or a good sale on kale greens, I fill their basket with that. Once in a while they get mealworms or the ends of our bread. Not much bread in our house. When it gets down to freezing here, they get a mix of oatmeal, scratch and dried fruit to get them warmed up. A bit of scratch the night before to keep them warm.

They get fresh blueberries, blackberries and raspberries that they steal off of my bushes in the summertime! I am always giving them table scraps. I just toss them off my deck so whenever I open the door now they come running whether I have food or not :)

We are getting our yard ready for our first bunch of feathered girls. I am so excited as I have been reading about keeping chickens for a couple of years and I think (fingers crossed) that I am ready. I have even picked out the chicks I want and will be driving to Meyers Nursery (only 90 minutes from me!) to get them. I stumbled upon your blog and have been reading everything and am love with your coops. It is obvious that you love your feathered friends and you are passing that love onto us. Thanks for sharing your wisdom!

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